Automatic flushing valve



Jan. 20, 1931. J. K. NORTHRQP v I 9 AUTOMATIC FLusaiue VALVE Filed Jan.12. 1929 //V vs 7'02 JOHN m NOE? H/; A 7'TOP/VE" Patented an '20, 1931JoHn 1r. noa'rnnor, or 1211111341113, CALIFORNIA AUTOMATIC nnusnmq VALVEApplication mense 12, 1929. Serial No. 331,982.

My invention relates to flushing valves, and particularly to automaticvalves for flushing sewerage systems'at stated intervals.

An object ofmy invention isto provide 5 an automaticflushing valve whichdoes not require special manholeconstruction,- and is interchangeablewith manuallyoperated working partsgare not exposed to the highlycorrosive action of sewer gases.

Further objects of my invention are to provide a valve having few andsimple working parts, which. is easy; to'install, and one whichisadjustable thru a wide range ofvop- I crating conditions. 9

'My invention possesses otherobjects and valuable features, some ofwhich will beset forth in the following descriptionof my in-' ventionwhich is illustrated inlthe drawings forming part of the specification.Itis tobe understood that I do not limitmyself to the showing made bythe said description and drawings, as I may adopt varying forms of I myinvention within the scope-of'thefcla-im's. The drawing is a sideelevation of a valve embodying my invention,installed in a flush ingmanhole of the usual type. The manhole is shown in section. l a

s5 Considered broadly, I invention comprises a valve gate havingsuitable operating means attached thereto. I A float'is mov: ablymounted withrespect'to the operating means, and is arranged to engagethis means 40 at its limits of motion to actuate the valve. In thismanner the opening and closing of the valve are accomplished suddenly,and the motion of the gateitself has no'bearing on the motion permittedthe float, and hence on the head of; water available for flushing.

Furthermore, as will be shown, this arrangement permits the valve seattobe placed vertically, which tends to keep it clear of obstruction, andalso permits the valve to be p closed while still under water, which'not aweb 17 between the two halves.

m anhole, or to a 'distance governed the quantity of'wate'r it isdesired tostore, 1n case i only contributes tothe same result, but alsoprevents the escape of sewer gases.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawing,-,thevalve isinstalled ina manhole fiof the-usual type, thru the side of which,adjacent the bottom, passesthe sewer pipe 7.-'-Over the end of the pipethe,

ring 8-is cemented, which has, the valve seat 9 formed on its face. a 7The valve itself is'of the'type disclosed i'n V my copendingapplication, Serial No; 255,617,

' filed February 20, 1928 and comprises agate 11, loosely hinged on: pin12 to hang in front of the seat, The gate has a gasket 1,3,

' .on its face to ensure tight contact with the seat, and-from itsbackprojects an arm 14 to which an operating lever l6is pivotally mounted;The arm-14 is preferably doubled. or forked to receive the end of thelever, with secured the ring 8 adjacent the valve "seat-are a pair ofbars18 whose ends are bent V 7 inwardly to provide inclined fulcra19. vThe, I

lever 16 is'bent, anditsshorterand'approxim atcly vertical arm carriesa-pin 21 which engagesthe fulcra-when thelever is pressed downward, sothat thegate is pressed inward against the'seat and also partiallylifted from the pin 12. 1

Asthus far described, the valve is identical with that ofmypreviousdisclosure.-. The lever 16, however, diifers from that there fshown inhaving astop 22 which engages the web17 to limit its. motionwith respect to the gate, and also in having a divided outer endbetweenfthe forks of :which a fitting23 is; pivoted on the pin 24. :Thefitting serves to attach to'the lever a rod 26 which extends upwardtoapoint adjacent the :top of the the manhole is over 8 feet deep; 1 r a ISetin the masonry of the manholeand held 7 by means of a tang 27 .is ahorizontal forked 7 bracket 28, near the outer: end of whichis'95pivoted a toggle lever 29. :This lever is also forked, and a bronzetension spring .30 between the forks of the bracket andlever connectsthe two to give vthem the familiar spring-toggle action, The pivoted"end of the lever is carried out in arcuate form withor pivot pins. Theother parts may be of the pivot at the center, and an adjustable U-shaped stop 31 is mounted on the arcuate portion to limit the throw ofthe lever. The stop is secured to the lever by a set screw 32. The forcerequired to carry the toggle past center varies with the throw, and bysetting the stops, the action of the valve may be regulated.

The rod 26 is connected with the toggle lever by a fitting 33 which issimilar to the fitting 23 connecting it with the valve lever. Mounted onthe rod is a float 34 whichhas a tube 36 passing through its center.The-tube is of such size as to slide easily on the rod. An adjustablestop 37 is also mounted on the rod to limit the motion of the floatthereupon.

In use, a constant small stream of water is allowed to flow into themanhole, gradually filling it, and raising the float on the rod. Thiscontinues until the float strikesthe stop 37, as shown in the drawing,after which the water level continues to rise on the float until itsbuoyancy is suflicient to overcome the force of the spring 30, raisingthe toggle lever and with it the rod and the operating lever of thevalve. Since the mechanical. advantages of the spring decrease rapidlywith motion, and the float is deeplysubmerged and therefore storesconsiderable ener y before it can overcome the force of the spring, theinstant the toggle lever starts to lift it carries past center and opensthe valve wide. As the water in the manhole escapes, the spring 30 keepsthe valve open while the float slides downthe rod until it strikes thelever 16, where it rests until its weight, unsupported by the water, issuflicient again to throw'the toggle and close the valve.

v The amount of water remaining in the manhole when the valve closesmaybe adj usted by the stop 31, regulating the throw of the togglelever. The water level at which flushing takes place may be regulated ina similar manner, and also by adjusting the stop 37'. A similar stopmay, of course, be mounted on the rod below the float to connect the'twooperatively before the float sinks to the level of the lever 16. v

An important feature of the device is that it is fully interchangeablewith the manually operated valve described in my previous application,requiring only the substitution of the lever 16 in so far as the valveitself is concerned. Changing requirements in a sewer-' age systemfrequently make changes from automatic tomanual operation or the reversedesirable, and with I this apparatus such changes may be made with aminimum of trouble and expense.

It is understood that the parts of the valve should preferably beresistant to corrosion. Not only the spring for holding the valve openand closed should be made of bronze or 65 similar material, but also thevarious hinge iron or steel galvanized or otherwise treated to preventrust. i

I claim:

1. An automatic flushing valve comprising a valve seat, a movablymounted gate engageable with said seat, a fulcrum adjacent the seat, alever mounted on the gate and engageable with the fulcrum to press thegate against the seat, arod connected to the lever,

a float slidably mounted on said rod, and

means for limiting the movement of the float upon the rod to connectoperatively the rod and float.

2. An automatic flushing valve comprising a valve seat,.a movablymounted gate engageable with said seat, a fulcrum adjacent the seat, alever movably mounted on the gate and engageable with the fulcrum topress the gate against the seat, means for limiting the movement of thelever with respect to the gate,'a rod connected to the lever, a floatslidably mounted on said rod, and means for limiting the movement of thefloat upon the rod'to connect operatively the rod and float.

3. An automatic flushing valve comprising a valve gate, a springactuatedtoggle operatively connected to said gate, a float arranged tothrow said toggle to operate the valve, and an adjustable stop arrangedto limit the movement of the toggle.

4. A valve comprising a gate, a spring connected to open and close thegate, and a float arranged to initiate the action of thespring, andmeans for adjusting the float pressure required to initiate said action.I

5. An automatic flushing valve comprising a valve gate, means forsuddenlyopening said gate, a float for operating said opening means, andmeans for adjusting the force on said float required to operate saidgate.

7 6. An automatic flushing valve comprising a valve seat, a movablymounted gate engageable'with said seat, a fulcrum adjacent the seat,al'ever mounted on the gate and engageable with the fulcrum to press thegate against the seat, means for limiting the movement of the lever withrespect to the gate, and control means for actuating the lever tooperate the gate.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand. v 7 JOHN K. NORTHROP.

